Lecture: Farmsteads of Columbia County

In the Hudson Valley agriculture has played an immense role in shaping our community. The Columbia County Historical Society presents Families and Farms of Columbia County: A look at historic farmsteads, three talks focusing on family farms and the varied tools and outbuildings needed on a farmstead in the Hudson Valley. The talks will discuss the shift from subsistence to commercial farming in the early 1800s and the rise of mechanization in the late 19th century through the challenges of today.

Walter Wheeler, Senior Architectural Historian at Hartgen Archeological Associates, will speak about Columbia County farmsteads and the types of buildings that were typically found on them during the 18th and 19th centuries.

Ted Hilscher, Professor Emeritus of History at Columbia-Greene Community College, and Gregg Berninger, Professor of English at Columbia-Greene Community College and Town Historian of Ghent, New York, will moderate the Q&A.